We_are_Stevo
Old School Grand Master
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See here for confirmation of everything Rody has said and Dendy seconded;
http://www.weldcraft.com/2008/10/tig-we ... um-tubing/
...regarding the genuine 'difficulty' of welding Ti compared to mild steel, then consider how that is put into practice?
Your average Ti frame is knocked up in a Far Eastern factory for virtually pocket money prices (I corresponded with one Chinese firm a few years ago when I was considering setting up my own business and it was a real eye opener!) that are then sourced and branded by the big name suppliers before passing on to the customer at vastly inflated prices...
Equally; a few years ago, when I was guarding, I had a a short-term contract on an industrial estate near Eye in Suffolk whilst the units were being reroofed - one of the businesses made Ti trolleys (the sort of thing you see in Holby City next to the surgeons in theatre...) for the medical profession. I used to go and chat to the guy while he worked and watch him welding these trolleys. I can assure you that he did everything in the above link by the book but, as I'm sure Dendy will agree, when it is your trade it is second nature and doesn't look anywhere near as complicated and daunting as it sounds...
If you trust your air carrier of choice to fly you and your loved ones on a cheap holiday to Spain in an aeroplane that has been constructed out of various bits of Ti fabrications welded together (and Ti is something like the 4th most abundant metal on this planet so why the end products are usually so expensive I dunno?) then why wouldn't you trust one of the guys wielding the torch who built that plane to run a bit of weld over this frame for you?
All he has to do is grind the old weld off, clean up the inside of the tube, de-contaminate the area and run his torch over it for about 30 seconds and it's done - it REALLY is that easy...
Rody could do it but wouldn't because he's a perfectionist and finds this whole thread offensive (that's not criticism, it would just be beneath him for a man of his obvious skills and passion) and if Dendy's name came out of the hat first he knows he could do it - whether he would or not only he can say - because he has the skill and facilities...
I could do it if I had all of the above and a bit of practice cos it's a long time since I got my hands dirty!
As it is, I make these now...
...and I charge a lot for them because you can't get better...
http://www.weldcraft.com/2008/10/tig-we ... um-tubing/
...regarding the genuine 'difficulty' of welding Ti compared to mild steel, then consider how that is put into practice?
Your average Ti frame is knocked up in a Far Eastern factory for virtually pocket money prices (I corresponded with one Chinese firm a few years ago when I was considering setting up my own business and it was a real eye opener!) that are then sourced and branded by the big name suppliers before passing on to the customer at vastly inflated prices...
Equally; a few years ago, when I was guarding, I had a a short-term contract on an industrial estate near Eye in Suffolk whilst the units were being reroofed - one of the businesses made Ti trolleys (the sort of thing you see in Holby City next to the surgeons in theatre...) for the medical profession. I used to go and chat to the guy while he worked and watch him welding these trolleys. I can assure you that he did everything in the above link by the book but, as I'm sure Dendy will agree, when it is your trade it is second nature and doesn't look anywhere near as complicated and daunting as it sounds...
If you trust your air carrier of choice to fly you and your loved ones on a cheap holiday to Spain in an aeroplane that has been constructed out of various bits of Ti fabrications welded together (and Ti is something like the 4th most abundant metal on this planet so why the end products are usually so expensive I dunno?) then why wouldn't you trust one of the guys wielding the torch who built that plane to run a bit of weld over this frame for you?
All he has to do is grind the old weld off, clean up the inside of the tube, de-contaminate the area and run his torch over it for about 30 seconds and it's done - it REALLY is that easy...
Rody could do it but wouldn't because he's a perfectionist and finds this whole thread offensive (that's not criticism, it would just be beneath him for a man of his obvious skills and passion) and if Dendy's name came out of the hat first he knows he could do it - whether he would or not only he can say - because he has the skill and facilities...
I could do it if I had all of the above and a bit of practice cos it's a long time since I got my hands dirty!
As it is, I make these now...
...and I charge a lot for them because you can't get better...
If your 15 stone and intending to thrash it perhaps this isn't the frame for you 
